Teachers, especially at the higher grade levels, often assume their students learned effective study skills in prior school years. As a result, students often make it to the college and university level with few study skills and poor study habits, leaving them unprepared for the more rigorous coursework. There are simple, effective techniques, however, that teachers can use at any grade level to teach their students to study.
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Taking notes and managing your notes is quite a chore, but essential for any student, whether they are University of High School, or vocational. If you can take notes efficiently, and then reviewing them regularly is an essential study skill and the way to higher grades.

The traditional way to take notes is to write down the main concepts and sub topics as quickly as possible during a lecture and then make corrections later to fill in any gaps.

The problem with this process is it is linear and doesn’t really involve any thinking – it is just a straight recording function, because time is short and generally doesn’t record the interconnections between the concepts you have written down.

Mind Mapping

Mind mapping is note taking technique where words, ideas, are linked linked to and arranged around a keyword or idea. Mind Mapping allows you to generate, visualize, structure and classify ideas, quickly and easily.

Compared to other note taking methods, Mind Mapping generally takes less space and it claims to be a superior method in terms of learning and recall.

However, different methods work better for different people and often paying too much attention to the mechanics of note taking distracts from the content, which is after all the key.

Mind Mapping Software

The ‘inventor’ and also the trademark holder of the term ‘mind map’ is Tony Buzan, who has created software that duplicates the brain’s non-linear thought process.

Visit the Mind Map Website for more information >>>

Students all respond to different methods of study in different ways. For example, some benefit from charts and diagrams more than others, while many find their retention significantly improves when they listen to an instruction rather than read it. Understanding different types of learners in your classroom before planning a lesson will help the students absorb the material and provides a great opportunity to introduce effective study skills. Help your students discover how they naturally tend to absorb information, and encourage each of your learners to consider these techniques.
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